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About 500 plush dogs and cats are spread out with help from Lackawanna County Sheriff’s Department Cpl. Corey Cavalieri on Thursday at the Aaron Center in Dickson City, with more stuffed animals to be donated in the next few weeks.
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BY BORYS KRAWCZENIUK (STAFF WRITER)
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Published: December 7, 2012

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A lawyer experienced in family law matters announced Thursday she will run for Lackawanna County judge next year.

Patricia Grande Rieder, 45, of Scott Twp., touts two decades of legal experience, including years as a master in family law cases in county court as the main reasons why she's qualified for the job. Masters make case recommendations to judges.

"I have always wanted to be a judge," she said. "My heart is really in the court system. I never really deviate too far. I've worked with some of the best jurists. I've studied them. I've watched them, consulted with them. I have a real passion for the law and the legal system."

Ms. Rieder will seek the judgeship held by the man who employed her for five years, Judge Chester T. Harhut. Judge Harhut in February reached the age of 70, the mandatory age a judge must step down from full-time duty. Dec. 31 is his last day as a full-time judge.

Ms. Rieder is the first candidate to formally announce, though Magisterial District Judges James A. Gibbons of Newton Twp., Alyce Hailstone Farrell of Scranton and attorney P. Timothy Kelly of Newton Twp. have said they are definitely running.

A graduate of Catholic University's law school, Ms. Rieder was a law clerk to federal Judges Richard P. Conaboy and Thomas I. Vanaskie, an associate at the law firm, Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis in Philadelphia, in private practice locally after leaving Judge Vanaskie and a master in family law cases since 2007 for the county court. She ran unsuccessfully for an Upvalley magisterial district judgeship in 2005.

"Listen, I have been doing this (master) job for the past five years. I fill in when the judges are unavailable pursuant to my master's responsibilities," Ms. Rieder said. "I've had my own docket where I'm doing those cases. I'm ready to do this job. And I will be fair. And I think anybody who has appeared in front of me knows that I listen to both sides, I have a very even temper. And anyone who comes into my courtroom would be able to say what's on their mind, be heard and get a fair decision. That I can guarantee you."

Ms. Rieder was one of two law clerks to Judge Harhut who were fired in October 2011 for reasons never made public. She and the other clerk, Judy Lettieri, were reinstated three weeks later by President Judge Thomas Munley, who told them they were dismissed "during my absence and without my authority."

"Following my internal inquiry into the circumstances, I have concluded that your discharge was inappropriate," he wrote in a letter to the women. "I apologize for any distress these actions may have caused you. Your pay and benefits have been restored on the basis of unbroken service."

Earlier this year, the state Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts agreed to pay Ms. Rieder $29,855 for her unjustified firing, though she only received $15,355 after attorney fees.

Ms. Rieder refused to discuss the original reasons she was fired.

"As you know, I was dismissed inappropriately and brought back, and that was made very clear," she said.

The record of the case is sealed.

"If you would â¦ request to have it open, I would be all for that," she said.

To voters, she said, "I think it's important for them to know that it (the firing) was inappropriate. I was immediately notified that I would be brought back, that it was completely unfounded."

Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk@ timesshamrock.com

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